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Editor\u2019s Note: Change is on the horizon. In this three-part series, we\u2019ll talk to three instrumental members of the faculty evaluation process to share what you can expect from course evaluations in the future.<\/em><\/p>\n By Alexa K. Haverlah, TLED Content Marketing Intern\u00a0<\/p>\n Making Meaning\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cSuccess is a journey, not a destination,\u201d said the late tennis player Arthur Ashe, the only Black male tennis player to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.\u00a0<\/p>\n You’ve probably heard this phrase before. Maybe you\u2019ve even said it to your students as a form of encouragement, to focus more on their grasp of the material rather than their grades.\u00a0<\/p>\n But have you embraced it as an ideology with which to measure yourself <\/i>as an instructor?\u00a0<\/p>\n Theresa Glenn, Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Lead for the Faculty Evaluation\/Portfolio Working Group, wants to change faculty evaluations from a time-consuming task into a meaningful opportunity for reflection.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments and failures and what we can learn from these in order to support student learning and grow as a professional, not just in our discipline but as an instructor,\u201d says Glenn.\u00a0<\/p>\n A System of Checks and Boxes\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cIn its current form, [evaluations are] a process of systems and checking boxes,\u201d says Glenn, a stressful and tedious task. Glenn wants to remove the surrounding dread and reconcile the get-it-over-with attitude toward evaluations.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Glenn acknowledges that some departments are already evaluating faculty in a meaningful way, consistency across the College is needed. \u201cRight now, everyone is doing their own thing,\u201d says Glenn.\u00a0<\/p>\n Glenn shares three foundational shifts on the journey to creating a more meaningful process and two intended outcomes as a result of this transformational change. Please note that these changes have yet to be officially approved through the Shared Governance process.<\/em><\/p>\n Three Foundational Shifts<\/strong><\/p>\n Shift 1: Future evaluations will align with ACC Faculty Values<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The ACC Faculty Values of Teaching, Scholarship, Inclusion, Collaboration, Service, and Empowerment will provide the framework for faculty to reflect how they represent these values in their work.<\/p>\n Example 1: Inclusion\u00a0<\/p>\n Reflect on how you\u2019ve incorporated teachings from workshops like Discover Your Blind Spots <\/i>and Keep the Spotlight on Race: Continuing the Conversation<\/i> into your classroom.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Example 2: Scholarship<\/p>\n Think about how you\u2019ve grown in the subject you teach. What conferences did you attend? Have you read any articles or books or watched any documentaries that expanded your knowledge of your discipline? Did these findings lead you to develop your curriculum?\u00a0<\/p>\n Example 3: Teaching <\/p>\n Ponder what new challenges you\u2019ve taken on that have helped you to grow as an instructor. Did you try a new approach, like a flipped classroom? Maybe you included digital literacy by talking about Adobe, or you used competency-based training in the classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n Visit the ACC Faculty Values<\/a> page on TLED\u2019s website for more information on the six values.<\/p>\n Shift 2: Evaluations will be guided by the faculty experience at ACC<\/strong><\/p>\n The current evaluation process is the same for faculty who have taught at ACC for one year as it is for faculty who have taught at ACC for 15 years. Same questions, same expectations.<\/p>\n Future evaluations will be faculty-centric and personalized, meeting the instructor where they\u2019re at in their teaching journey. Faculty will have different expectations of them in relation to their time at ACC.<\/p>\n For instance, first-year faculty should focus on their teaching and how they are connecting with students. Faculty who have been at ACC for 10 or more years might focus more on collaboration, sharing their knowledge with new colleagues or working on community projects between ACC and the broader Austin community.<\/p>\n Shift 3: Evaluations will have a 360\u00b0 perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n The previous foundational shifts – aligning evaluations to ACC Faculty Values and tying them to the faculty experience at ACC – require faculty to reflect on their goals, accomplishments, challenges, and failures. Or, what you said you would do, what you did, and what worked or didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n Faculty self-reflection, along with the student voice, reviewers\u2019 comments and supervisor’s feedback, will provide the 360\u00b0 perspective.<\/p>\n As for feedback from fellow faculty, Glenn cites a 2018 TLED Faculty Survey that identified faculty wanting more opportunities for peer observation and feedback. However, she says peer observations are a little trickier for departments to implement given the number of faculty that would have to be observed, faculty schedules, and the distance between campuses. The working group is considering options for faculty that do not require actual classroom visits. These innovative approaches to peer feedback would accommodate potential logistical complications.<\/p>\n